Gunman killed in London gun siege

It is believed officers may have used stun grenades as they forced their way inside.

An ambulance drew up to the scene and several specially trained trauma doctors arrived as the dead man was taken from the building.

The incident began hours earlier when the gunman screamed 'Get off my street or you will die' at stunned residents in a street off the King's Road, Chelsea.

One resident said she had been standing in Markham Square with a friend when her multi-million-pound townhouse was peppered with shotgun pellets from a property opposite.

She added: 'I went upstairs to check the house and he had been shooting into one of my bedrooms. There were pellet holes all over the wall.

'The police arrived and I took them upstairs and showed them the room.

'He took a shot at the police and the police fired back several times. I have no idea who he is.'

A gunman involved in a tense five-hour standoff with armed police in Chelsea is believed to have been killed.

An eye witness reported seeing three doctors in orange suits going into the square along with three paramedics.

Officers were called at 4.50pm today after reports of gunshots. They were shot at and returned fire.

The man was believed to be holed up in a residential house. Television pictures showed officers at the door of a home in the square.

Officers were called at 4.50pm today after reports of gunshots. They were shot at and returned fire.

So far there are no reported injuries and no one has been arrested.

One eyewitness said there was an argument between a man and a woman before the shooting started.

Sky News reported a distressed woman was heard claiming the gunman is her ex-boyfriend who is licensed to own four different types of guns.

Another said her house had been shot by a man in his late 20s with dark hair who was brandishing a shotgun.

He fired into one of her second floor bedrooms, sending shot spraying over pictures in the room and breaking the window, she said.

The woman, who was not named, added: "It's just very strange. I think it's going to hit me tomorrow, I don't know why someone was shooting at my house.

"I have no idea who he is, I've never seen him in my life."

Tyrone Bennet, 19, who works at French Connection in King's Road said he heard about five gunshots.

He and colleague Michael Henry, 25, described seeing police armed with guns lying at the entrance to Markham Square peering through the bushes.

They suggested that the gunman may have tried to escape down this road before discovering it was a dead end.

A string of shops in the surrounding area were forced to close, with staff and customers trapped inside as the drama unfolded.